Exit Strategy
}} The Linear Guild uses the chaos of the battle to escape from the Azure City prison. Cast * The Linear Guild ** Nale ◀ ▶ ** Sabine ◀ ▶ ** Thog ◀ ▶ * Miko Miyazaki ◀ ▶ * Tsukiko ◀ ▶ * The Kidnapper ◀ * Chlorine Elemental ◀ * An Azure City Soldier * An Azurite Prison Guard * A Hobgoblin Soldier Transcript The Chlorine Elemental (periodic table entry "17 Cl 35.453") turns on Tsukiko, who responds with a Lightning Bolt. The Kidnapper watches from a barred window. Chlorine Elemental: Kill all humans. Inside the prison. Kidnapper: HA! I knew I made the right call staying in prison. That Tsukiko chick is getting her ass kicked by an elemental! Kidnapper: It’s so much safer up here! Outside, Tsukiko dispatches the elemental with a spell, which also causes the prison wall to crack. Tsukiko: SHOUT! A large chuck of masonry from the prison wall falls on the Kidnapper, killing him, "THUNK!" Nale: Well, now, really, what did you expect after a line like that? Nale: Thog, give me a boost, I think I can squeeze up there… Thog: thog always dreamed of being footstool, thog never thought dream come true. Thog lifts Nale up on his shoulders to the hole in the wall. Thog: *sniff* Thog: it everything thog imagined, and so much more. Outside, Nale approaches an Azurite Soldier in combat with a hobgoblin. Nale: Charm Person! Nale: Give me your sword. Solider: Yes, sir! The soldier hands over his katana. Hobgoblin: Hey, thanks! I guess I’m lucky you really needed a katana! The hobgoblin impales the soldier with his longsword, killing him. Nale: I prefer longswords, actually. Nale kills the hobgoblin with the katana, "slash!" Back in the prison. Sabine: He sure is taking a long time out there… Thog: nale only been gone for four panels. Sabine: Thog, when someone in a comic strip says, “he sure is taking a long time,” it indicates that time has passed between panels. Thog: ohhhh! sabine smart! Nale walks into the prison past the corpse of the prison guard, holding the hobgoblin's longsword and the guard's ring of keys. Sabine (off-panel): Nale, there you are. Nale: Interesting trivia fact: The guard with the keys has a higher-than-average Will Save for a fighter. Nale opens Sabine and Thog's cell doors.'' '''Thog: thog free, free as the wind! Sabine: Oooo, I missed you so much, baby! Nale: Me too, now let’s get out of here. Sabine: What about the ex-paladin, do we spring her? Nale: Honey, she snapped your neck! Sabine: …I got better. Nale: No, no other prisoners. She can find her own way out. I’m sick of dead weight on this team. Nale: I mean, “Pompey”? What was I possibly thinking? Sabine: So, are we going to go find the Order of the Stick and kill them? Nale: As much as it seemingly violates the Linear Guild charter, not today, dear. Nale: There are already way too many characters involved in the action here: Nale: My brother, his followers, Xykon, HIS followers, the paladins, the ex-paladin, probably a few D-listers we don’t even know about… Nale: If we stuck around here, we wouldn't get nearly the amount of spotlight that we, as major recurring villains, deserve. Nale: Besides, why make this into a three-way struggle for Soon’s Gate, when there are two other perfectly good Gates out there waiting to be found? Nale: Let them fight over this one, we’ll sneak off and capture another, don’t you agree? Sabine: … Sabine: Oh, sorry. I kinda got distracted when you said the word, “three-way”. On the parapets of the castle. Sabine: So, does this mean we’re giving up on revenge? Nale: Don’t be silly, the never-ending escalation of petty revenge will continue, but at a more prudent time and place. Sabine takes flight, carrying Nale while Thog hangs on to her foot. Sabine: Then where are we going? Nale: Shopping. Thog and I left all of our magic items in Cliffport. Nale: After that, wherever our evil schemes take us, my dear. Thog's stomach gives a mighty "RUMBLE!!!" Nale: Which, apparently will include another ice cream parlor. Thog: hooray! D&D Context * Lightning Bolt is a 3rd level wizard spell. A staple of attack spells, it does 1d6/level damage to a maximum of 10d6. * Shout is a 4th level wizard spell which does 5d6 sonic damage as well as deafening the subject. Brittle objects, such as the stone wall behind the elemental, take 1d6/level damage up to a max of 15d6. * Charm Person is a 1st level spell which causes the subject to treat the caster as a trusted friend and alley. Nale apparently tried it on the guard but he made his Will save to resist the effects. Trivia * This is the final appearance of the Chlorine Elemental, which first appeared in the previous strip. * This is the final appearance of the Kidnapper from #420. * Nale picked up Pompey as a replacement spellcaster for the Linear Guild in Cliffport in #254. He was a lower level caster, still as student at Warthog's. * Thog's love of eating ice cream was first shown back in "Linear Storytelling". External Links * 458}} View the comic * 45729}} View the discussion thread Category:Uses Lightning Bolt Category:Uses Shout Category:Uses Charm Person Category:The Battle of Azure City